So you and your significant other broke up. You’re sad for, like, a day, but then you just reapply a fresh coat of lip gloss, flick out your cat eye and bump the following blatantly #honest lady anthems. You’re welcome, bad b*tchez.
1. Boss A** B*tch - PTAF
In the spirit of not sugarcoating things, let’s just state fact from the start. You’re a boss a** b*tch and everybody knows it. You better strut whenever the iconic hook thumps, and recite the outro lyric like it’s the alphabet: “I think you know where it's about to go / We’re too turnt up for you / B*tch, I thought you knew.” #B*tchIThoughtYouKnew
Also, Nicki remixed this song and it is obviously equally necessary.
2. “Conceited (There’s Something About Remy)” - Remy Ma
Perhaps the most important song of 2006, “Conceited” keeps it unapologetically real. Here are the lyrics: “See I look too good to be f***ing you / I look too good to be loving you / You know I look way too good to be stuck with you / I’m conceited, I’ve got a reason.” As if you needed reassurance.
3. “Love Myself” - Hailee Steinfeld
When I first heard this song, I kind of dismissed it as the bubblegum pop that heartbroken 12-year-old girls sing into a hairbrush while dancing alone in their rooms. But in reality, it is so much more than that. Not only will you resort to these behaviors, but you will embrace them as you aggressively chant “I LOVE ME / GONNA LOVE MYSELF, NO, I DON’T NEED ANYBODY ELSE”. Also, it’s low key about masturbation. Don’t believe me? See what you think after reading the lyrics.
4. “Feeling Myself” - Nicki Minaj (feat. Beyoncé)
No playlist should ever be complete without these two women who literally descended from Heaven and blessed us with this collaboration. Listen to this whenever you’re about to go out and you’re inevitably going to have a damn good night.
5. “Shake It Off” - Taylor Swift
Everyone and their mom knows this song, but that’s just a testament to how essential it is. *Shakes it off*
6. “No Scrubs” - TLC
“No, I don’t want your number / No, I don’t want to give you mine / And no, I don’t wanna meet you nowhere / No, don’t want none of your time.” Make it known that you have high standards and that not everyone can make the cut. Snip, snip, b*tches. Not even sorry about it.
7. “Get Ur Freak On” - Missy Elliott
This is the ultimate song to bump with your windows down at a stoplight. Let that exec in the Lambo and the mom in the Suburban know what you’re about. Crank that bass and the words will tell them all they need to know: “Y’all can’t come close to me / I know you feel me now / I scream it loud and proud / Missy gon’ blow it down.”
8. “Lip Gloss” - Lil Mama
“WHATCHU KNOW ‘BOUT ME!!!”
9. “Independent Women, Pt. I” - Destiny’s Child
Question: Did you really think I wasn’t going to include this song in the playlist? My gurlz Bey, Kelly, and Michelle set the record straight about providing for yourself and yourself alone. I. Depend. On. Me.
10. “Bad Girls” - M.I.A.
“Lookin’ in the rear view / Swagger going swell / Leavin’ boys behind / ‘Cause it’s illegal just to kill”. M.I.A. knows it’s time to move on, but that it’s crucial to look back at yourself and acknowledge how dope you really are. You’re a bad girl, and you do it well.
